Hi, everybody! Yes, I know I haven't updated in like, a century (Okay, maybe not quite that long…) but it's not my fault! It's my stupid camp's fault! Yeah, probably not, but I need to blame it on something.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. (Oh, and I suffered from writer's block for a long time, so this chapter may be really crappy. So please keep an open mind!)
Dawnpaw walked around the camp searching for Stormpaw. She wanted to go hunting, but being a new apprentice, she had to go with a warrior or another apprentice. Why does Oakstar always have to be so busy? she thought to herself. I never get to go out and hunt with him. She looked around the camp for someone she knew. When she saw none, she sighed sadly and walked back to the apprentices' den, head down.
"Ow!" She crashed into another cat. She stood up immediately. "I am so sorry," she mewed. "It was an accident."
"It's okay," the cat -a small silver she-cat- purred. "I know it was." Her blue eyes sparkled with kindness as she mewed, "But you should probably try looking ahead next time you walk. It's much easier if you want to see where you're going."
"Right." Dawnpaw nodded. "I was just heading back to the apprentices' den."
"Why?" the cat asked as she cocked her head to the side. "Aren't you going hunting or something?"
"No," Dawnpaw sighed. "Oakstar's busy, so I tried to find Wildpaw or Stormpaw, but they're not here."
"Stormpaw's on hunting patrol right now, and Wildpaw's on border patrol right now," the she-cat stated matter-of-factly. "You can probably find Stormpaw somewhere around Fourtrees, and Wildpaw by Sunningrocks."
Dawnpaw was confused. "How do you know that?"
The cat shrugged. "My father's Oakstar. He tells me where all the patrols are and who's on them."
"But…you're not the deputy."
"No," the cat agreed. "But he tells me anyway…just in case something happens." She paused. "I haven't told you my name yet, have I?" Without waiting for Dawnpaw's response, she mewed, "I'm Silverflower. You're Dawnpaw…right?"
Dawnpaw nodded. "That's my name." She stopped for a moment. "Do you…do you want to go hunting with me?"
Silverflower shrugged. "I don't have to do anything right now, so sure!"
"Great!" Dawnpaw exclaimed. "Let's go!"
Just as she and Silverflower were about to race into the forest, someone behind them yowled, "Silverflower! Oakstar wants to see you in his den!"
Silverflower looked at Dawnpaw with sympathetic eyes. "I'm really sorry," she meowed. "But I have to go."
Dawnpaw nodded. "I understand. Maybe another time."
"Maybe." As Silverflower headed to Oakstar's den, she turned and mewed, "You know, border patrol will be back soon. Maybe then you can go hunting with Wildpaw." Then she turned around and started walking away.
Dawnpaw raced to the edge of camp, eagerly waiting for Wildpaw to come back. As she saw him enter, she ran up to him. "Hey Wildpaw! Want to go hunting with me?"
"Sure," he replied enthusiastically. "Follow me. I know all the best places for hunting." Then he shot off into the forest, Dawnpaw chasing after him.
They stopped as they reached Sunningrocks. "There's always lots of prey here," Wildpaw mewed.
As he sniffed the air for prey, Dawnpaw announced, "RiverClan's been hunting here."
He turned and looked at her. "How do you know that?"
"Their scent's still here," she meowed, gazing across the river. Wildpaw sniffed the ground.
"You're right," he growled as he lifted his head up. "They were." He looked over at RiverClan's territory. "Let me go catch something. Then we'll tell Oakstar." And with that, he leapt away.
Dawnpaw sat there with her tail curled around her paws until he got back, carrying a mouse in his mouth. "Let's go," Dawnpaw meowed. Wildpaw nodded and they leapt away toward camp.
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As they reached camp, Wildpaw dropped the mouse and mewed, "I'll tell Oakstar. You can give this to the elders."
Dawnpaw nodded. "Okay." She picked up the mouse and dashed off toward the elders' den. She stepped in and looked around. There, sitting in the den, were three old cats. Two were toms, the other a she-cat.
"Is that for us?" the she-cat asked kindly. Dawnpaw nodded, and she brought it over to the she-cat's paws, where she dropped it. "Thank you," was all the she-cat mewed before biting the mouse.
Dawnpaw would have left the den, if not for something in the back of her mind pulling her back. She stared at the she-cat. Something about this cat was familiar… That's it! she thought excitedly.
The elder looked up at her. "Why are you staring at me?" she asked.
"Oh, um, no reason. You just remind me of someone."
"Well, alright," the old cat purred. "But you can go now, you know. You don't have to stay here and watch us eat."
"Alright." Dawnpaw dipped her head in respect for the elder, and she raced off to find Wildpaw. She saw him coming out of Oakstar's den, and she raced up to him. "Hi, Wildpaw!"
He looked at her. "Hi."
"So what did Oakstar say?" Dawnpaw asked. "Isn't he going to do something about it?"
Wildpaw shrugged. "He didn't say much. All he mentioned to me was that he was going to mention it at the next Gathering. Although I'm not quite sure that'll…"
Dawnpaw wasn't listening. Her mind was focused on the elder she had seen earlier. She had reminded her of someone, and now a memory Dawnpaw wished she had forgotten was coming back to her:
A small black-and-gray she-kit stepped into a large den, holding a rabbit in her mouth. An old black tom lay there, his large amber eyes watching her intently. She stepped up to him, and dropped the rabbit at his paws. "Here you go, Gorse," she mewed quietly
"Thank you, Root," he meowed. He started to eat the rabbit hungrily. Then he looked up at her. "You know," he mewed. "You look so much like your mother."
"What are you talking about?" the she-kit asked, confused.
"Yes, Gorse. What are you talking about?" came another voice, one belonging to a small black tom.
Gorse looked away. "Nothing."
"That's what I thought." The small tom looked at the she-kit. "Come, Root."
As they stepped out of the den, the she-kit asked. "What was he talking about?"
"Nothing," he replied. "Absolutely nothing."
"He's hiding something," the she-kit thought. She planned to ask Gorse the next day, but the next morning, the old black cat was dead.
So what did you think? (No bad reviews, PLEASE!) And please review! I know you guys can do better than only three! (Which was the amount I got for the last chapter.) But thank you to the people who did review!